This is Hallowe'en

It was the perfect Colorado Hallowe'en this year. This fall has been truly gorgeous...early 70's during the day, blue skies, slight breeze, the reds, oranges, and yellows of maples and aspens changing color. This is the girls school, which is 5 houses down from our home. We love having the Rockies in our backyard.

However, despite the boggling beauty, the girls were getting impatient! "How many days until Hallowe'en?" they would say!!!

Here are some of the things we did to pass the time while we waited...
Wrapping mummies at school...apparantly zookeeper's are very good at this.

Hanging out with witches and pirates...this includes games and yummy food I might add.

Hayden joined in on the classroom party fun. He was obviously completely taken with all the costumes, food, and games...

So, it was time to go home, where we would continue to wait and wait until Hallowe'en, when we could finally have some fun!

So, we thought we would carve some pumpkins!

Scooping the guts out was the best part!!

This is when Avery decided she liked fake pumpkins MUCH better. According to her, they are not slimy, and they don't stink. Actually, according to her, her fake pumpkin smelled like flowers.
We also roasted pumpkin seeds...and ate about 3 of them, before we decided goldfish crackers taste much better.

Hayden enjoyed the pumpkin guts.

Our stinky and slimy...but pretty, pumpkin family.

We still had a few more days of waiting, so we made some scary masks...and I have to admit they were a little freaky...

THEN, it was finally Hallowe'en! Everyone had the day off of school this year, so we had a little cookie decorating party at the VanWagoner's home. What a beautiful day! It could have been August for all we knew!

You should always warm up for trick-or-treating by eating lots of sugar, because you never know if you will get enough later on that night...

It was almost time, but first we had some hot dog mummies for dinner. They were YUMMY MUMMIES!

Then, our zookeeper, monkey, and witch were ready to hit the streets of Colorado Springs!! (Check out Avery's tiger on her shoulder - LOVE it!)

The one thing that got that "sookie" out of Hayden's mouth was, you guessed it...candy.

The AFTERMATH.

This is what mom and dad look like after a few Kit-Kats....

and THIS is what our kids looked like...

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!!!

Haydo Potato

I thought it was time for a video/picture update on Hayden. He is growing so fast, and turning in to a little man right before our eyes!


This morning I was sweeping the kitchen floor, and had left the broom closet open. I turned around and this is what I found! Hayden had pulled the mop out, and was trying his darndest to mop right along with me. I just want to squish him! :)

Hayden LOVES to be outside. He escapes through the doggy door as many times a day as I change his diaper. No matter what the weather, rainy, cold, windy...he just wants to be free!!

Hayden is a trickster, and is always showing us his "break dance" moves, which include a variety show of jumps, dives, and "oomphs!" He likes to poke Avery in the arm with his fork at dinner time, and he likes to see what items flush down the toilet, and...which ones don't. Every animal says "arf arf", except for cats of coarse, which say "Mawr". Any picture, video, commercial, or sound representing a car stops him dead in his tracks. He is a motor vehicle fanatic. Above all, Hayden is the most cuddly of our kids, he loves to just snuggle and be close to mommy and daddy. We sure love our Haydo Potato! :)

Just a thought....

I hope I am not opening up a deadly can of worms here...

There is a lot of talk lately about Barack Obama being a socialist, and McCain accuses him of wanting to "spread the wealth around" with his tax plan. I am not for socialism in its radical form, and I do not believe Obama to be radical. My thought is, many members of the church are Republican, and buy in to this thought that "spreading the wealth around" is outrageous, and infringes on their rights and privilidges. My question then, is, if you believe that to be true, what are your thoughts on the Law of Consecration? Is it such a terrible and outrageous ideal, if the Lord Himself asks this very same principle of us one day? That his children be on more equal ground? That the wealthy give more because they have more? I am not referring to any other aspect of this campaign, then to what I have stated. I welcome your thoughts...

Three White Dresses

Madeline's Baptism Day

September 29th, 2007


If you have a little girl this will touch your heart, and if you don't, I hope you will still be touched.

Because we all need a good chuckle...

The new way to decide the election...

http://www.minimovie.com/film-128460-McCain-Obama%20Dance-Off

Two girls and Twenty dollars

For Family Home Evening this week, we decided on a double whammy. Food Storage AND budgeting. I know, crazy! We decided to give the girls $20, with which they had to buy enough food storage, for the two of them, for a week. We told them they could do it all on their own, as long as everything was non-perishable. They began with their plan of attack. Madeline started making her list. When she was done, she had listed about 7 different kinds of sugar cereal. That's it. Hmmm. I gently reminded her she may want something for lunch and dinner as well. Avery's list was much more practical....

Cookie Crisp (cereal), beans, and "ronie cheese" (our family nickname for mac & cheese)

So, off we all went to the grocery store. I have to say it was encouraging to watch the girls work together as they looked for the best deals. Tom and I let them do it all on their own as we had promised. Their little brains had to work pretty hard to figure out what 5/$3.00 meant! The girls got some looks, as they were not quiet during this process...so, we just smiled as people glanced at our family, probably wondering why two little girls were arguing about the cost of powdered milk...

Overall, I think it was a great success. The girls were much more frugal knowing they were spending money on something they might actually need one day. So, what did a 9 year old and a 6 year old buy for a week of food storage?

3 boxes of "roni cheese", 2 cans BBQ vienna sausages, 1 can spehgettios, 1 can of peas, 2 packs of chocolate pudding, one bag hard candy, 2 cans beans, 1 can tomato soup, 5 packages of Ramen noodles, 1 box speghetti, 5 gallons of water, 1 jar of applesauce, 1 large jar peanut butter, and one box of all-purpose baking mix! Not bad if I do say so myself. I think they actually would be able to survive on that for a week. Maybe. Notice there is no sugar cereal, or any cereal for that matter. Probably due to the drama over the powdered milk. Madeline said it just didn't fit in to the budget. I think Madeline just didn't want to fathom the possibility of actually having to drink it...
So, if you ever want some good entertainment, just give your kids $20 for food storage and see what they get. They just might surprise you! :)

donkeys and elephants

Why is the Democratic symbol a donkey? Why are Republicans elephants? Why did they switch underwear in this picture? I have my own theories (on the symbolism, not the underwear)...but I thought a lesson in history might serve this Canadian girl well. For those of you who may also need a refresher course on animal symbolism... the buck stops here. Pun intended.

http://www.c-span.org/questions/week174.htm

I understand...

Recently, I had a conversation with Madeline that went something like this:

Madeline: You just don't understand!! You have no idea what it is like to be a kid!!

Me: Actually I do (and I dedicate this post to Madeline)

When I was a kid, it was the 80's. I have to say, I think the 80's was the coolest decade ever. I mean ever, ever. Everyone was happy, the songs on the radio were happy. We wore flourescent colored clothing and plastic shoes. It was all about girls wanting to have fun....and that meant by dancing and having sleep overs with your friends, and nothing else. Music video's were entertaining. Madonna was still cute and innocent. Michael Jackson dressed up like a zombie and danced with the other undead, and I couldn't get enough of it. I use to dance in my bedroom, with my leg warmer's on, listening to The Culture Club, and Duran Duran on my record player, just knowing that if I practiced hard enough, I too, would be able to be a Solid Gold dancer. I watched "Fame" religiously, and dreamed of going to some...any...school of performing arts when I became a teenager. My Saturday mornings were spent watching The Smurfs, and my evenings were spent watching The Muppet Show, and on special occasions, if we were lucky, an encore presentation of Strawberry Shortcake would come on.

Check out my "Fame" shirt....was that COOL, or what? Even my little sister Erika is decked out in my mom's electric sparkle shirt...everything sparkled in the 80's. (circa 1983)

What else did kids in the 80's do? Collected stickers, of coarse!! Most of us had sticker books, (which were usually one of mom's old photo albums) the coolest stickers included Cabbage Patch Kids, Smurfs, and any that were "puffy", "googly eyed", or "smelly". (I had a mean orange scented Smurfette). I also loved my Cabbage Patch Kid. Her name was Carlette Carlie, and she had brown hair and blue eyes just like me. I imagine my mom and Nana had to sucker punch a few other moms at the toy store to get their hands on her. Thanks mom and Nana. I read Garfield books and Archie Comic books. I threaded tiny beads on to safety pins, and wore them across my shoelaces....yes, friendship pins - because the more you had, the cooler you were. I begged for a plastic bracelet from the quarter machine every time we went to the grocery store, until I had a whole forearm's worth. The coolest bracelets said "Awesome" and "Excellent".
My summer's were spent outside, all day every day. We rode our bikes, and roller skated...with four wheels. We made up dances, and practiced cartwheels, and jump roped. If you got really good, you could double dutch. We walked to the pool and met our friends to go swimming - by ourselves! The closest thing we had to a computer or video game, was Donkey Kong and Pac-man down at the local donut shop, and that cost too much to play anyway. We didn't watch TV during the day because they didn't have kids shows on during the day. Sesame Street, but that was only for an hour. No one had VCR's yet, so we didn't watch movies either. Life was simpler, wasn't it?
My cousin's and I posing for a Christmas pic, circa 1980 (can you guess who I am?)

My favorite movies were E.T., The Goonies, The Secret of Nimh, Firestarter, Splash, and Gremlins. (I can proudly say we have at least 3 of those in our current movie collection)

Yes, times, were different, we did different things, and wore different things then most kids today....but I still had a little sister, still had to clean my room and deal with school yard drama. I had homework, and an allowance, and could only talk on the phone for so long. I took my lunch to school, and got in trouble when I pushed my sister. I stressed about what to wear, and if anyone would see my training bra through my clothes. Every morning that Madeline and I argue over something, I can see myself in her. I see the same stresses, triumphs, the same joys and frustrations that I felt as a child. As she plays with her Cabbage Patch kids, and watches her Strawberry Shortcake DVD's, I can see the generations connect, and see how close we actually are. Letting her know just how much I understand makes us that much closer.

So, on that note, sit down with your kiddo's today, and watch this - let them know what it was like when you were a kid:

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=APTBYQWsnrA

For the Fun of it?

I have been tagged, so here it is...


8 Shows I like to watch:

Keith Oberman Show
What Not to Wear
The Office
CNN
SNL
The Tonight Show
Flipping Out
Survivor Man
Man VS Wild
Project Runway
That's more then 8 shows

8 Favorite Restaurants

NOT Ocean's Grill
Barro's Pizza in Phoenix (sigh)
On the Border
P.F. Chang's
NOT McDonald's (although I still get conned in to going there)
Harvey's
Sonic (is that a restaurant?)
Callie's Kitchen
I can't be picky, I have kids.

8 Things that happened today

I watched Tom eat an oyster
I got nauseous after watching Tom eat an oyster
I bought new sunglasses
I watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" until Tom started snoring
I spent over $100 at SuperTarget
I read more of Edward and Bella's saga in "Breaking Dawn"
Lit our first fire of the season...in the fireplace
I bought a candy apple kit that I want to eat right now.
I also, took a shower, ran in the rain, got a kiss from Hayden, pretended to drink grape scented shampoo for Avery, and changed my shirt three times.

8 Things I am looking forward to

Hallowe'en
Trunk or Treat
Thanksgiving
Tom's parents coming for Thanksgiving
Getting my hair highlighted
Making guacamole tomorrow
Being done with the Primary Program
My hand healing and getting the feeling back in my finger
I am also looking forward to, Christmas, Hot Chocolate, snow, Election Day, having Hayden sleep in his own bed, by himself, without me...ever again.

8 Things on my wish list

A new watch (mine broke)
New clothes
Pedicure
A long vacation
A massage
for my kids to clean without me asking them 107 times
to always get the green light when driving
to be able to eat whatever I want and not gain an ounce
I also wish for, quiet motorcycles in the neighborhood, people to turn down their tripped out stereo systems at red lights, no laundry, self cleaning bathroom's, and to never have to go to the dentist again...

**If you read this post then you are tagged, and I fully expect you to do this...for reals.

It's great to live in #308!!!

Let me take you back to the "good ol' days"... back to Ricks College '95-'96. It didn't get much better then this! I have to say I had the BEST roommates ever. We had so much fun that year, and we learned so much from one another. Mandy and Kim, this post is dedicated to you...since you are the only ones from #308 that read this blog! Hope you enjoy it! :)

The ladies of Heritage Manor #308: Top (left to right) Kim Farnsworth, Kym Mann, Mandy Wade (Bottom) Bobbie Chaney, Callie Smith, Amy Billings. Some of us served missions, and all of us got married and had children of our own.

Why am I the only one NOT sporting perfectly hairsprayed "claw" bangs here?? It must have been the stubborn Canadian in me. I am sure I gave in eventually...All I know was we were stylin' with our vests and button down shirts!

This was the day we went to the Sand Dunes, although they were "snow dunes" since it was the middle of winter. We had great fun that day!!

Mandy and me at Jackson Hole. It was a random trip we took at the end of the school year. Very fun and cold!
Mandy with Ben Skinner. Mandy had lots of "boyfriends"....:)
We all drove to Provo when I reported to the MTC. I can't say enough what it meant to have you all there supporting me. You truly became my family, and it was hard to say goodbye! Life changed so much for all of us after that! Mandy...what is up with that mini-dress? Scandalous!!
Actually, this was more scandalous! I think we dragged out our mattresses, and had a sleepover in the livingroom. Kym Mann obviously thought she was a Victoria's Secret model...
Christmas '95. Notice our homemade fireplace and Christmas tree made from paper. We were so crafty like that! I had serious eyebrow problems back then didn't I?...

Yes, I have many more pictures, and if I have enough requests I may post some more. You can only handle so much of 1995 in one post...

Love you guys!!

Imagination at Work

I am so glad that despite the TV, video games, and the internet, I can still catch my girls doing stuff like this every day...

What were they doing you may ask? I wasn't quite sure either, but according to Avery they were playing "Disco Detective's"...isn't that obvious?? Avery cracks me up, she means business!
The scary thing? We actually have clothes to make such a game possible...

Just What We Needed...

Yesterday was a tough day...just one of those "when will this ever end" kind of days! I won't go in to major details, but it was the kind of day where I fell down the stairs while holding Hayden and skinned my knee, hurt my back, and twisted my foot. The kind of day where it's your husband's birthday, and you want to make it a fun and special day, but you stab your hand (literally) while making guacamole, and have to spend 3 hours in urgent care getting it fixed up. The kind of day where you don't get to eat the guacamole, because it is brown by the time you get home from the hospital. The kind of day where you have to get a tetanus shot because of your stab wound. The kind of day, where you try to salvage it with birthday cake from Safeway, and there is a karaoke singer performing outside of Safeway, singing "My Kind of Woman" at the top of his lungs...and you don't feel like any kind of woman as you rummage through birthday cakes with your good hand. The kind of day where your baby boy cuts his lip open while throwing a fit, and bleeds all over his bedroom. The kind of day, you really just want to end so that no one else gets hurt! It really wasn't a good birthday for Tom, although we did try to make the best of it.
We needed today. So much. As you can imagine we missed all General Conference sessions yesterday. We savoured the first session today. At the end, Tom and I were both so impressed by President Monson's talk. We both felt like he was talking to us when he suggested that we focus on what is important and not get distracted by life, because life changes, things happen, and you can't relive a day. (I am paraphrasing). We were so distracted by yesterday. We were both so grouchy, and it wasn't making anything better by acting that way. We weren't looking at the bigger picture. The blessings that we do have. The bottom line is, I am so grateful for this gospel, and for the leaders of this church that speak to us through the spirit. I am grateful for truth's that are whispered to us from the pulpit of General Conference. We are very blessed to have that direction, and I am thankful General Conference has salvaged our weekend from the depths of despair!! Today is a much better day.

Like it or not!

Today is Tom's 31st birthday...
he HATES birthday's...
well, more specifically just his own birthday's. He always has. Even as a little boy. (Or so I hear) He would much rather have the attention be on anyone else. So, he will cringe at this post, but I can't let the day go by without letting him know how much we love him, and how grateful we are for him in our life.



Tom is the youngest of his five brothers and sisters, yet he was the first to be married...go figure! He became a husband and father
very young, but we all know that is what he was meant to be because he does it so well.
These are a few of the many things I love about Tom...
He carries Hayden while he mows the lawn (even though he doesn't have to), he always compliments my cooking, he tells me I'm beautiful (in the morning!), we have the best, longest late night talks ever, I get him...and he gets me, he is loyal, he has integrity, he is hard working. He bakes me cakes on my birthday, he makes the bed, he willingly changes diapers, he makes me laugh. He grills yummy food. He loves his family, he loves his Savior. He doesn't just "work" at his job, he serves. He loves his patients. He is more compassionate, and charitable then any one I know. He is motivated, he is soft spoken. He likes Canadian food. He lets me go grocery shopping by myself. ....and, so much more....

Happy Birthday Honey! Just know, I did this out of LOVE...and that it is better then me throwing you a party, am I right?:)

Rewards

It was another cavity free day for the girls at the dentist's office! We are so proud that neither of our girls have ever, ever had a cavity. We take ultimate pride in their dental health and hygiene...

So, how did we celebrate?




Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Mint Chocolate Chip to be exact. Because, we're crazy like that.